Hull Deck Joint

G

Greg #4134

New Member
I have an old 1979 Laser which I bought a couple of years ago. When I purchased it I did a hull deck joint repair which held up for a couple years but when I unwrapped it today the joint had split again and there was a lot of moister in there. :mad:

Does anyone know of a good way to repair the hull deck joint? What is the best way to dry out the joint before repairing? I really just wanted to go sailing today (first really nice day this year.) Is it even worth bothering trying to fix it again? (I'm not really sure that's the only place it's leaking) :(

Anyone know of a GOOD boat for sail in upstate NY?

Greg
 
I used 3M 5200 "fast drying" (regular slow drying takes like a week to cure!)

1. Must be dry. Rags, followed by blow dryer?? Mine wasn't wet to start with.

2. pry joint apart as wide as possible without making it worse.

3. Squirt in as much 5200 as you can, all along the seam. Remember, you're using it as an *adhesive* not as a *caulk* so you want to get a lot of it well into the joint.

4. Clamp and set. IIRC, I used C Claps holding 1x2s Don't squeeze so tight you squeeze out all the 5200.

Others will recommend epoxy for this job. I'm sure that works, but I've had good luck with this repair - holding well for two years now, and not leaking.
 
after you apply the 5200 on the seam use a vacume on the stern drain plug and it sucks the 5200 all up in there for a sure seal
 
DK Sailor said:
after you apply the 5200 on the seam use a vacume on the stern drain plug and it sucks the 5200 all up in there for a sure seal
Click to expand...

That sounds like a plan; it's a common trick for pulling epoxy into cracked DN (iceboat) sideboards. I'd be (very) careful about how much vacuum you pull on a Laser hull. Just a couple PSI can add up to a lot of force on a large surface like the hull.

Also, I'd use WEST epoxy instead of 5200.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
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